Anello
by Ishka
Summary: When Dino left for Italy, he promised Kyouya that they will watch the first sunrise of the year together. On the night of his flight, he had a dream of Alaude. And in it, he was not Dino, but the First Cavallone.


**Anello**

It has been forty-five minutes since the bell chimed signalling the end of the last period, and the last school day before winter break for Namimori's students. The school was almost completely deserted, except for a few making their way out of the gates. A group of friends- about a dozen of them- were huddled together in front of the school discussing their plans for the weekend, something the Public Morals Committee's chairman would have scolded them for had he been there.

Up on the school's rooftop, the edge of a black whip made a soft whoosh as it aimed for a short, dark haired boy's arm that held a red band saying "Public Morals", which it narrowly missed when it collided with a silver tonfa instead and reflexively coiled itself around it.

"You're fast." The wielder of the dark whip grinned mischievously under sun-coloured fringe. "But not fast enough, Kyouya."

He forcefully tugged on his whip, pulling along the tonfa and the boy who held it. For half a second Kyouya looked like he was about to lose his balance, but he swiftly found his footing and used the tonfa on his free hand to land a hit on his opponent. The older boy ducked just in time and before Kyouya knew it, he was on the ground coughing and holding his stomach tightly.

"That's the second time you've left an opening, Kyouya. What's up? You're not feeling well or something?" He chided as he walked towards Kyouya and extended a hand to him, which the latter slapped away, getting up on his own.

"Dino-san may look gentle, but he's as fierce a trainer as ever. Right, Romario-san?" A man with funky twirled hair standing by the door to the school's rooftop told the man wearing glasses beside him.

"Ah. I have never seen Boss this excited. He really…"

Whatever Romario was going to say was interrupted by a sneeze.

"Kyouya? I was just kidding, but did you catch a cold after all?" Dino asked, looking worried.

"I'm all right. Let's conti… ah… ACHOO!"

"We better get you…"

Dino paused when he felt something cold on the tip of his nose- making him flinch- then another one on his cheek, and as he looked up on the grey sky, more cold droplets fell all over his face.

"Look, Kyouya. Snow!"

"Hibari, snow! Hibari, snow!" happily chirped his bright yellow bird as the little one flew in from nowhere and perched on his rightful place on Kyouya's shoulder.

Kyouya looked up, his features relaxed into a serene expression and his lips faintly quirked upwards. This did not go unnoticed by his blonde tutor whose own face lit up with a smile as soon as he saw Kyouya's face. His reverie was cut short by another sneeze.

"C'mon. We better get you inside."

"I said we'll continue. I'm fine."

"Yes, yes, you're fine." Dino dismissed nonchalantly. "But I need to go anyway. I have a flight to catch tonight."

Kyouya's eyes widened ever so slightly. It was so subtle and quick Dino almost started to think he had just imagined it. He moved closer to Kyouya and gently caressed his little bird's fluffy down with his index and middle fingers.

"I'll be back in time for New Year's Eve." He spoke in an affectionate tone then his eyes shifted from Hibird to Kyouya. "I want to see the first dawn with you."

Their eyes locked for a seemingly endless moment. Dino then moved his hand from Hibird's head to Kyouya's cheek, caressing it with equally delicate movements. Kyouya's mouth opened slightly, and it seemed like he was about to say something before he sneezed.

Dino sighed.

"Get inside. Your cheeks are growing cold."

-x-

Romario knocked twice on a varnished mahogany door.

"Boss, I've brought tea" he announced.

Dino's voice resounded from behind, saying "Come in".

When he opened the door, the sound of crackling wood coming from the fireplace greeted him. A few page-flipping, feverish pen strokes and folder-closing later, Dino stretched and finally acknowledged him.

"Thanks, Romario."

"I brought snacks and dessert too. You didn't come down for lunch again today and it's already sunset. You must be hungry."

He brought in a silver cart carrying a teapot with its matching cup, a tray of mini club sandwiches and bite-sized desserts on a two-tiered platter, all of which he moved to the glass low table surrounded by a dark green leather sofa and two matching chairs just a couple of meters away from Dino's work desk.

"Starving, actually." Dino got up from his chair and plopped down on the sofa. "But I want to finish work as soon as I can, so I'll keep going. I promised to be with Kyouya on New Year's Eve after all, so I have a little less than a week to go through all… _that_." Dino looked with disdain at his desk and the mountain of paper work waiting for him to review.

Romario chuckled. "Well good luck then."

As soon as Romario finished pouring tea for him, he started to push the cart towards the door but Dino called out to him.

"Romario"

"Yes?"

Dino looked thoughtful for a moment then said "No, nevermind. You can go."

Romario nodded and went out, closing the door behind him.

Dino reached for a sandwich and shifted to a more comfortable position then absently bit into his food. He relished the taste of turkey, provolone cheese and frittata inside thin slices of focaccia bread as he thought about what he was meaning to tell Romario.

On the night of his flight, he had a strange dream. In the Cavallone estate, more than half of the garden is covered with a sea of azure forget-me-nots, and in the dream, all of them were in full bloom. In the middle of it all was a marble bench, its back rest carved with the Cavallone's family insignia. There was a man sitting there wearing a dark coat, which was a big contrast to his platinum blonde hair. There were three birds, each perched on his head, right shoulder and on his finger. His features were relaxed, lips very faintly quirked upwards and affectionate eyes fixed on the little bird on his finger.

'_He really does bear a striking resemblance to Kyouya…'_

When Dino was just a few steps away, he was not surprised at all to see the bird bath was empty. The only thing he saw was his reflection… except he looked older, and had dark locks tied in a loose ponytail. It didn't take long for Dino to realize he was seeing his ancestor- the first Cavallone's- image and not his.

"Alaude" He called out. He felt half sorry for the birds for startling them and making them swiftly fly away, but half happy now that he has this man's attention all to himself. The man turned towards him, his striking sapphire eyes matched the shade of the flowers surrounding him.

"As always, you're late, Cavallone."

"And as always, you're impatient."

When he was right in front of Alaude, he half-kneeled and caressed the closest flower, smiling fondly at it. "I love these flowers. They have the same colour as your eyes."

He looked up at Alaude and saw his eyebrows raised.

"Surely, you didn't call me all the way out here to admire your plants?"

He chuckled. He knew the way Alaude spoke with disinterest belied the way the man would always tread carefully in his garden whenever he was there, making sure never to step on a single flower. He reached inside his coat pocket and took out a small box. He opened it and, still in his half-kneeling position, extended his hand out to Alaude.

"For you."

Inside was a gold ring engraved with the design of two hands clasping. Alaude looked curiously at it for a moment, then at him, then back at the ring.

"This is?"

"Hm… Let's just call it a promise ring." Dino heard a note of mischief in his ancestor's voice, but it mellowed into a more serious tone when he added. "A promise that from this day on, you don't have to wait anymore."

"Fair enough." Without any more questions, Alaude unceremoniously took the ring and tried to put it in his left middle finger, as he was already wearing the Cloud ring on his right. His eyebrows furrowed when it did not go all the way in.

"It doesn't fit."

He took the ring off, and looked slightly offended when he heard the other man laugh.

"It wasn't meant to be worn on that finger. May I?"

One hand reached for the ring while the other reached for Alaude's left hand. He moved the ring closer to Alaude's left ring finger, but before he could put it on him, Dino woke up.

Wondering what that dream was all about, Dino reached for his cup and drank his cooled tea. For now, he decided to shove it at the back of his mind and continue with his work. With the gloomy premonition of not getting any sleep, he grudgingly trotted back to his work desk. He cheered himself up with the thought of calling Kyouya then quickly shot down the idea. He knew that if he heard Kyouya's voice, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from flying all the way back to Japan.

Dino was fully intent to work through the night, but that proved to be difficult when he was sitting close to the fireplace. The warmth made him feel so comfortable that he started nodding off. It did not take long for him to doze off.

Having fallen asleep from the warmth of his fireplace, Dino wondered why he was suddenly feeling so cold. And his back hurt, too. It hurt a lot. He felt stupid for thinking it- but wondered anyway- if sitting in an ergonomic chair for long hours would cause searing pain in his back. He pried one eye open and seeing his surroundings answered his first question. He was cold because he was outside, in the garden, in the middle of winter.

The sun was already high up, and what was a carpet of forget-me-nots in the spring was now covered with a blanket of glittering snow. He pushed himself up, only to feel pain flare up from his upper right arm. He shifted his weight to his other arm and pushed himself up again. He staggered towards the stone bench, and his back seemed to grow more painful with each step. After what seemed like an agonizingly long walk he finally reached it, his knees then gave in and he collapsed beside it.

He found it strange that the layer of snow seemed thinner on a couple of small spots in front of the bench. The shapes seemed to resemble foot prints. Right above said shapes, there was also a considerably thinner layer of snow on a little spot on the bench, as if someone had been sitting there.

He noticed something glinting against the light. He picked it up, and dusting the snow off of it revealed a gold ring with hands clasped. The fingers that picked it up stained it red with blood.

Dino woke up with a start. He instinctively looked at his hand, and sighed in relief when he didn't find any wounds in there. He felt his right arm and his back, and those seemed okay too.

He glanced at the wall clock. It was already past 4 in the morning. He picked up the phone and dialled Kyouya's number. The dream gave him a bad feeling, and he hoped it was not an ill omen of any sort.

Kyouya did not pick up, as usual. Dino then started to dial Kusakabe's number, as usual. He was used to Kyouya being bad at taking phone calls, but he began to get a little worried when even Kusakabe- who he always called when he could not reach Kyouya- did not pick up his phone either.

What if Kyouya really did come down with a cold? What if it was more serious than that? Kyouya's cold can get so severe to the point where he has to go to the hospital after all.

All sorts of scenarios started running through Dino's head, but he tried to tell himself it was just because he was still worked up over the dream, and that he was worrying over nothing. He felt too awake already to go back to sleep, so he decided to get to the bottom of it and went to the place he visited the least in the entire Cavallone mansion- the library.

He went straight to the archives and searched for information about the first Cavallone and Alaude. He had no trouble learning about the life history of his ancestor, and how he had suffered the fate of someone in the mafia. He left for a mission on Christmas Eve. He succeeded in crushing an organization that betrayed the Vongola, but not without a price. He returned a week later seriously wounded and died from his injuries in his own estate.

However, just as Dino had expected, Alaude was as elusive as he seemed. After hours and hours of searching, the only thing he could find was that Alaude was the founder of CEDEF- something already known to all- and the date of his death. He died noon of January 1st.

'_Their death anniversary is coming up, I wonder if that has something to do with the dreams I've been having…'_ Dino pondered as he flipped through more books and files. Even the cause of his death was not publicly known. He had to dig through folders upon folders of confidential files to find out that Alaude had died of pneumonia.

After another couple of hours of fruitless searching, Dino figured it was time to stop and headed for the exit. As he walked past wooden shelves, he stumbled on the edge of a metal stepladder and reflexively held on to some hard-bound books to regain his balance. He realized the next moment that it was a wrong move, as he did not only fall face first on the floor, he dragged the hard cover books with him. He managed to not get hit by the falling books, but the noise it made was loud enough to wake Romario.

Dino told Romario about the dreams he had, and was surprised to learn Romario had seen a ring similar to the one in his dream in the family's storeroom, once when he was sent to look for an heirloom Dino's late mother had wanted to pass on to her son in his coming-of-age. As they walked towards the storeroom, they passed by a hallway with portraits of each Cavallone head. Dino had seen these paintings a lot of times already, but he was not any less surprised to see the picture of the first Cavallone, which dispelled any further doubts he might have had that the man in his dreams was indeed his ancestor.

"We're here, Boss"

They stopped on the farthest door on the third floor. The door was no different from all other doors in the hallway, and would have been easily mistaken for just another guest room. However, instead of reaching for the door handle, Romario moved the painting of daffodils that hung beside it to reveal a code lock. He entered a series of numbers and they heard a soft click after he pressed the last digit. He fixed the painting back in place then pushed the door open.

Inside the room were curios, jars, more portraits, shelves and cabinets in no particular order. From the curious designs, Dino knew these were unmistakeably antiques. Romario headed straight for a white wooden cabinet with silver-rimmed glass doors. He pulled one door open and took out a red and gold jewelry box on the middle shelf. He opened it and inside there was only one piece of jewel- the exact same gold ring in Dino's dream. It could have been any other ring with the same hands clasping design, but this one still bore the darkened stains.

Dino took the ring from the box. When the tip of his fingers touched it, he felt a different kind of warmth radiating from it. Dino found it odd, the gold undoubtedly felt cold to the touch as it had been kept away for so long, but when he clasped it in his hand, the warmth just felt stronger. Dino closed his eyes for a fleeting moment and realized that it was not his palm but his chest feeling the warmth. It became clear to him what he had to do.

"Romario, I want to visit Alaude's grave. We need to give this ring back to its true owner."

"A wise decision, Boss. But I think we should call it a night for now. What's left of it, anyway. Take a short nap, then we'll leave first thing in the morning."

Dino looked like he was about to protest, but reluctantly did as Romario said anyway.

"All right. Good night, Romario."

-x-

Dino remembered being woken up by a phone call. He sleepily wondered why his ringtone was different, but did not think much of it as he fumbled in the dark for his phone on his bedside table. He pulled it off the receiver, extending the coiled wire connecting it to a black unit with a round dial.

/ "Sorry to interrupt your sleep, Boss. It's urgent. We're still in the middle of negotiations, but things aren't looking too well. The tension is rising." /

"I'll be right there." He answered succinctly and hung up. He sat up, making the blanket slide down his bare top. He looked beside him and caressed the platinum blonde hair of the person sleeping next to him.

"Mm…" The other man stirred before his eyes slowly fluttered open. He looked up at him, and his sapphire eyes seemed to sparkle under the moonlight. Dino knew then that this was another dream. And once again, it was not him, but the first Cavallone.

"Do you have to go? Does this mean things didn't work out then?"

"Yeah. " He felt his face break into a bitter smile.

"Should I come with you?" Alaude moved to sit up, but then he started coughing.

"No, you should lie back down. You've been looking pale all day." He gently pushed the shorter man down.

"I'm all right. It's just a cold."

"All the more reason for you to stay. Now get some bed rest and drink lots of fluids." He patted Alaude, who did not bother to hide his annoyance from his face.

"I'm not a child."

"No, of course you're not." He reached for Alaude's left hand and kissed the ring on his left ring finger. "I wouldn't propose to a child."

"Propose?"

Alaude's face made him laugh.

"What, don't tell me you've already forgotten our romantic engagement in the garden just last spring?"

Their eyes locked for a seemingly endless moment. He then moved his hand from Alaude's hand to his cheek, caressing it in delicate movements. Alaude's mouth opened slightly, and it seemed like he was about to say something before he sneezed.

He sighed.

"Go back to sleep. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone this time, but I'll be back for New Year's Eve. I want to see the first dawn with you. That's right, why don't we meet in the garden and wait for the sunrise together?"

"Don't be late again" Alaude reluctantly lay back down and snuggled the thick, warm comforter. It didn't take long before his breathing became even and he was fast asleep.

The first Cavallone looked at the grandfather clock by the window and saw that it was exactly midnight. As if the clock felt his gaze, it promptly chimed twelve times.

"Merry Christmas"

He planted a long kiss on the sleeping man's lips. It felt warm, so he touched his forehead and did not like how hot his palm felt. He made a mental note to have one of his men check on Alaude, and if his fever still has not gone down the next day, he will order him to drag Alaude to the hospital. Literally, if he had to.

He could not understand why he felt unusually hesitant to leave, but the part of him who had to perform his duties for his famiglia won in the end. With one last look at Alaude, he suddenly had the urge to etch every last detail of the serene face in his memory before he roused to prepare for heading out. After all, in the world they live in, there was never really any certainty when- and if- they will return.

Dino woke up feeling cold sweat trickling down his temples. What he just dreamed of may have very well been the first Cavallone's last memory of Alaude, his lover. He looked at his bedside table, which had a digital alarm clock and his cell phone instead of the vintage phone in his dream. There was also the gold ring, which reminded him he had to get ready to go to the cemetery.

It was a misty morning, which made it difficult to look through the graves. There was one section there exclusively for the Vongola, but true to Alaude's character, even in death he was buried in a spot separate from the rest of the famiglia. Further down, close to a now frozen stream was a lone tree. Right beside it lay the first Cloud Guardian's final resting place.

Romario placed a bouquet of flowers as Dino made a mental promise that next spring, he will have their gardener uproot some forget-me-nots and plant them by the gravestone. They knelt down and spent a few minutes of silence, each offering a prayer for Alaude's soul. Finally, Dino removed the glove covering his right hand and took the gold ring out of his breast pocket.

Romario excused himself and told Dino he will go ahead and start the car to warm it up. Dino smiled gratefully. His subordinate always seemed to know when to give him some space.

"I brought something for you." He quietly spoke, smiling at the grave. He brushed a layer of fresh snow on the ground with his bare hand then fished out of his coat pocket the Swiss army knife he always carried. He pulled out one of the thicker edges and proceeded to dig a small hole. He put the gold ring in there, then put the soil back to bury it.

"Thank you."

Dino looked up with a start.

"Alaude…?"

Their eyes met for but an instant then Alaude spoke.

"Don't fail me a second time."

Dino was taken aback. "What do you…?"

Before he could finish his question, a little bird flew from the direction of the tree and landed right on top of the gravestone, briefly distracting him. The little one's white feathers fluttered as it jumped down to the bouquet of flowers, pecked on the paper wrapping twice, then flew away again. When Dino looked back to where Alaude was standing, there was no one there anymore.

Dino got up and brushed snow off his pants. Alaude's words kept resonating in his head as he traced his earlier steps and walked back to where Romario parked his car. Neither of them spoke as they drove out of the cemetery. On the way back to the estate, Romario broke the silence in a cautious voice.

"Boss, I wasn't sure if I should tell you about this." He began tentatively. " This is only hearsay among members of the famiglia, and there are no records to back this, but…"

"But…? Go on."

"…"

"Romario?"

"Boss, there's a story surrounding that gold ring. I asked around when I first saw it in the storage room, and I was told that it belonged to the first Cavallone."

Dino inwardly agreed. He knew that already.

"It has also been said that on the day he died, he was clasping it in his hand. He sustained life-threatening injuries on his last mission, but apparently refused to be brought to the hospital. Instead, he insisted to go home, so his men summoned the family doctor. The strange thing is, they said that he died not in his chambers where he had been tended to, but out in the garden. That must be why even his present descendants have preserved that garden. The first Cavallone must have loved it so much…"

The rest of Romario's voice dissolved into incoherent mumbles in Dino's head as he recalled one of his dreams. More than just a dream, he had a feeling it was the First's dying memory. Putting the pieces together, he finally figured out that before his ancestor left for his last mission on Christmas Eve, he had promised Alaude they will watch the first sunrise together, much like he had promised Kyouya before leaving Japan.

But his ancestor wasn't able to fulfill that promise. When he came back, he was seriously injured. He tried to go to the garden in his final moments albeit it was long past their promised time, but when he got there, Alaude was gone, leaving behind only the ring.

'_That's it! Their promise!' _Dino mentally whacked himself on the head. _'I should've known. I also made a promise to Kyouya to see the first dawn together. This time, I have to fulfill that. Both for us and for them.'_

"Romario, book the soonest available flight to Japan."

-x-

It was only while he was grabbing whatever clothes were within reach and dumping them on his suitcase- which he had just emptied not too long ago- that Dino noticed he had left his phone in his room when he went to the cemetery. There were 5 missed calls and a text message from Kyouya's right hand man, Kusakabe, who started the message with an apology for missing Dino's call the night before.

Dino's heart skipped a beat when he read _'The Chairman was brought to the hospital the night you left for Italy'_. He didn't remember reading the rest of the message as he bolted out of his room with his luggage.

His flight back to Japan was sleepless. Everytime he closed his eyes, he was visited by the image of his dying ancestor. It did not help either that Alaude's words kept replaying like a broken record in his head.

By the time he arrived it was already evening of December 31st in Japan time. And just like the night he left, it was snowing. He headed to Namimori's hospital straight from the airport. There was a tall Christmas tree set up just by the front door in the main lobby, and boxes covered with fancy wrappings accented with a mix of gold, silver, red and green ribbons- things Dino did not notice even though it was the only bright spot in the dimly lit hospital. It was clearly past visiting hours already, but he decided to take a chance anyway. His focus was fixed on the Information desk, and he was about to approach one of the nurses but stopped when he recognized the man talking to them.

"Thank you so much. If you see him please contact me as soon as possible."

"Kusakabe?" Dino called out.

Kusakabe looked at him, surprise written all over his face. "Dino-san, you're back."

"How's Kyouya?"

Kusakabe's brows creased. "He was supposed to be discharged from the hospital tonight. I left to get a taxi but when I came back, he was gone. I asked the nurses if any of them saw where he went but no one knows."

"What! Where could he…"

Dino was halted when Kusakabe's phone rang. His ring tone was the same as Kyouya's- Namimori's school anthem. Dino dashed out of the hospital, ignoring calls of "No running please" from the nearby nurses. He knew where to find Kyouya.

The snow under his foot made a crunching noise when he got off the car. He quickly closed the door and dashed for the school building's main entrance. He ran through empty classrooms, climbed up flights of stairs- tripping twice on the way- until he finally reached the iron door to the rooftop. Dino grinned with satisfaction when he saw it was unlocked.

'_Bingo.'_

The door creaked as he pushed it open. There was about an inch-thick layer of piled up snow. It had stopped snowing already by the time he got there, but the snow was still relatively fresh and very soft. The rooftop's entire perimeter was covered in white except for the spot where a boy clad in a simple ash-coloured long winter coat and grey-and-white knitted tuque with its matching scarf was sitting.

"Kyouya. I'm back" said Dino. Kyouya looked at him and wordlessly acknowledged his arrival, before turning his gaze back to where he was facing before. Dino crouched down beside him. "To think you'd be waiting for me here."

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm here because I want to see the first dawn at my beloved Namimori." Kyouya's voice came out soft as a whisper, his breath creating mist as he spoke.

"Aw, so you weren't waiting for me?" Dino exaggerated the dejection in his voice by a notch.

He brushed snow off with his gloved hands then scooted closer and sat cross-legged beside Kyouya. He wrapped an arm around the shorter boy and pulled him close. Kyouya tried pushing him away, but Dino just tightened his hold. "Just this once, Kyouya. You've just recovered from your colds, so let's share body warmth this way."

Kyouya paused as if to consider, then seemed to be satisfied with the argument and stopped struggling. They sat there together in silence for a long while until Kyouya spoke. "When I was in the hospital, I had a dream."

"A dream?"

"I was in Italy, in your garden. Just like today, it was snowing. I didn't recognize it at first, until I saw your coat of arms on the bench I was sitting on. I stayed there for a long time as the snow continued to fall and accumulate all around me. I was waiting for you, but you never came. I watched the first dawn all by myself. Still, I kept waiting, until someone finally came and told me to come inside for breakfast. I took off a ring… It was gold and bore the design of two clasped hands. I left it there hoping you'll find it and give it back to me, so I can make you apologize for making me wait… But as soon as I stood up I started to feel dizzy. I felt like I was going to fall and then I woke up."

Dino had goosebumps. What Kyouya just told him was not a simple dream. Just as he had somehow been visited by dreams of the first Cavallone's past, Kyouya had also glimpsed into Alaude's memories. Dino then recounted his dreams to Kyouya.

After hearing his story, Kyouya did not say anything. Neither did Dino. They stayed snuggled in the darkness which, in a short while, steadily turned brighter.

From the horizon, they began to see the first rays of the sun. As they watched the sun come up, Dino mused that just as it happened to the first Cavallone boss and Alaude, there will come a time when they would have to part. Bust just as his ancestor had found Alaude in the past, and he had found Kyouya in their lifetime, Dino vowed to himself that he will find him again in their next life and the ones after that.

-End-

Author's note: Happy New Year everybody! This is my first attempt at a pairing I love so much. I promised myself that I would never, ever attempt to write about them, but this story just wouldn't leave me alone! So if I ruined their image in any way, please forgive me (cry).

If there's anyone to blame, it's **apocadelic** for encouraging me to write it. :p


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